Features

Dr Mary Neal warns of yet another attempt to introduce authoritarian measures in Scotland. With Liam McArthur’s Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill currently at stage two in Holyrood, Patrick Harvie MSP has tabled an amendment – amendment 127 – to create s

The number of significant cyber attacks doubled in the last year despite the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) receiving the same number of calls for support – which highlights the need for greater vigilance in implementing security, write Simon Colvin and Stuart Davey. But the headline-gr

‘Sectarianism’, according to the OED, is an ‘excessive attachment to or identification with a particular religious or political group’: definitions matter, and author Chris Bambery explains contemporary discussions and recommendations in that regard. Mention might also be mad

I recently found myself in the company of a remarkably sensible chap who was singing the praises of his chosen subject: artificial intelligence. Without question, this would change the world forever, he assured me, and we would all be much better off as a result. We were living in a new age. Medical

Paul Motion considers whether motions for dawn raid orders should always be video recorded. Of all orders the Scottish civil courts are empowered to make, arguably the most intrusive, invasive and distressing are orders under Section 1 of the Administration of Justice (Scotland) Act 1972. These orde

Rachel Hayes, Leo Moore and Aoife Keenan – of Irish law firm William Fry – explain the key features of the EU's Digital Identity Wallet. The Regulation (EU) 2024/1183, which establishes the European Digital Identity Framework (EUDI Regulation), came into force in May 2024 and will take l

Thomas Ross KC examines the collapse of the Bayoh inquiry. The resignation of Lord Bracadale from his position as chair of the Sheku Bayoh inquiry after 122 days of evidence – followed by the mass resignation of all the counsel to the inquiry three days later – no doubt led the public to

For those of us who live in or commute to Scotland’s major towns and cities to work, our encounters with the countryside are often brief – and usually recreational.  Of course, the rural and agricultural sector has been crucial to the country’s economy for centuries, with 80 p

Ross McDowall urges Scottish businesses to familiarise themselves with new environmental rules ahead of a looming deadline. Businesses that currently hold environmental consents for water, waste and industrial activities in Scotland should check if they will need new or amended environmental authori

A sheriff has ordered a joiner hired to fit a kitchen in East Kilbride to pay just over £20,000 to the homeowner after determining that he had failed to meet the implied standard of work by not building plumb and square plasterboard walls and dismissed a claim for the remaining balance due. Pu

Jack Boyle takes a look at the thorny issue of Employment Tribunal fees. Employment Tribunals date back to 1964, when they were known as Industrial Tribunals. The system has always been one which is “free” to access, in the sense that (unlike other legal jurisdictions, such as courts) th

In the fourth of a series of interviews undertaken by the Scottish Ethnic Minorities Lawyers Association (SEMLA) for Black History Month, SLN spotlights Brianella Scott, a Scottish government solicitor born in South America and raised in the Highlands. Brianella's story is one of breaking barriers a

Ben Finnie of Gilson Gray explains why property tax reforms south of the border matter for Scotland, and what they could mean for buyers, sellers, and investors here. The ongoing debate over property tax reform in England and Wales continues to make headlines. With talk of major changes – from

Cyclists are often thought of as vulnerable road users, but on occasion, they can injure or even kill the more vulnerable, writes Thomas Mitchell. Readers may remember the much-publicised case of Charlie Alliston who collided with Kim Briggs as she crossed Old Street in London. Charlie was riding a

The sadistic murders of Ian Brady and Myra Hindley are sadly too familiar: following on from the criminal trial in 1966 there has been an endless stream of literature. The Lost Boy is hardly a new book: originally published in 2007, it was republished in 2008; a second edition appeared in 2013; and